Friends (TV Series 1994 - 2004) is an institution. Rarely do comedy shows last successfully for ten years and go into syndication immortality. It's staying power is due to a combination of great comedic scripts, brilliant comic timing and character's young people all over the world can relate to. Crane and Kauffman set out to make an ensemble show that featured young adults just starting out after college. They remembered how in NYC they built their own family's with the friends they roomed with before they got married and had their own families.

I remember watching the first season and thinking if the cast can get their timing in order and they bring in writers on the level of the TV show Seinfeld they will have a long run. David and Marta brought in legendary TV director and creator James to help get the casts comic timing in order. Young talented writers were brought in to help flesh out the scripts and tailor the lines of each character to the actors portraying those roles. By season four Friends was a well oiled machine.

In the scene below watch David flawlessly execute pain through his face and body language. It makes you grimace and laugh at the same time. Schwimmer is a very physical comedian. David reminds me of Steve Martin in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Both Schwimmer and Martin are very intelligent and have great control of their physical instruments.